2026
2026 season · TE · #81 · 11th season
Austin Hooper
Age 32 · 6'4" · 254 lb · Stanford · Pick 81 overall (2016). Listed TE3 on the 3WR 1TE depth chart. Snap share 25% across 8 games.
- How goodHooper has +8.3 EPA on 11 targets; percentiles arrive once he reaches 15 targets.
- Where it comes fromThe biggest share comes after the catch (+6.3).
- Fantasy1.7 standard points a game, TE53 of 109.2.3 half-PPR points a game, TE53 of 109.2.8 PPR points a game, TE54 of 109.
- How he's usedAustin gets a fingerprint once he reaches 15 targets; the bars show his shares so far without a league percentile.
- LatelyTargets are steady: 1.3 a game over his last three against 1.4 for the season.
- This weekA soft matchup: the Bengals rank 27th vs TE, allowing +0.36 EPA per target to tight ends.
How good is hehis line against the league at his position
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target shareof team targets | 7% | |||
| Depth of targetair yards per target | 3.7 | |||
| After the catchyards per reception | 4.8 | |||
| Catch ratereceptions per target | 82% | |||
| EPA per target | +0.76 |
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First downsper target | 36% | |||
| Drop ratedrops per target, lower is better | 0% | |||
| Yards per game | 9.5 | |||
| Success rate | 73% | |||
| Total EPA | +8.3 |
Graded once he reaches 15 targets. 45 tight ends qualify so far.
Hooper scores 1.7 standard points a game, TE53 of 109 TEs with enough games. Most weeks land between 0.2 and 2.1; 0 boom weeks (9+) and 7 busts (under 3). This week the Bengals allow the 10th-most standard points to TEs, 9.5 a game.
Hooper scores 2.3 half-PPR points a game, TE53 of 109 TEs with enough games. Most weeks land between 0.4 and 3.1; 0 boom weeks (12+) and 7 busts (under 4). This week the Bengals allow the 8th-most half-PPR points to TEs, 13.0 a game.
Hooper scores 2.8 PPR points a game, TE54 of 109 TEs with enough games. Most weeks land between 0.6 and 4.1; 0 boom weeks (15+) and 7 busts (under 5). This week the Bengals allow the 8th-most PPR points to TEs, 16.5 a game.
How this is measured
Fantasy points are nflverse's standard and full-PPR scoring (6 points for a rushing or receiving touchdown, 4 for a passing touchdown, minus 2 for an interception or a lost fumble); half PPR is the average of the two. Ranks are points a game among players at his position with at least half the most games played. Most weeks is his 20th to 80th percentile game. Bars are green on a boom week and red on a bust; the dashed line is the starter line, the points a game of the TE12 in a 12-team league. The format you pick is remembered on this device.
How he's usedhis fingerprint, where the ball finds him and when
Austin gets a fingerprint once he reaches 15 targets; the bars show his shares so far without a league percentile.
How this is measured
Every trait is a share of his own targets, so volume does not move it. The marker is him among the league's qualifying tight ends; the dashed line is the median. Styles are not grades: a high or low percentile is a description, not a verdict. Play action, screen, RPO, motion and blitz flags come from FTN charting and read low in a week it has not published.
Hooper has +8.3 EPA on 11 targets; percentiles arrive once he reaches 15 targets. The biggest share comes after the catch (+6.3).
career +0.32 over 2016–2025 · the best of his 11 seasons so far
How this is measured
Every target this season, split by what happened. Catches divide at the catch: the yards in the air and what came after. The percentile is him among the qualifying tight ends, higher is better, so a cost smaller than most ranks high. The parts add up to the totals above; the career strip counts seasons with at least 15 targets.
He is targeted short left 2.5× as often as the league (45% of his targets against 18%) and gains +1.70 EPA a target there.
How this is measured
Every target with a charted depth and direction this season; sacks and throws with no charted direction are left out. Left and right are as the offense sees the field. Cells with fewer than three targets show no EPA.
On the field
By depth of target
Who he works withthe connection, and the rest of the huddle
By depth
Week by weekthe shape of his season, the game log and the defenses behind it
The game
vs BengalsBernabeu
CIN −3 · O/U 52.5
His history
First meeting this season
His status
A soft matchup: the Bengals rank 27th vs TE, allowing +0.36 EPA per target to tight ends. He has averaged 10 yards a game against bottom-10 defenses this season.
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Snap | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at PIT L 13-2026th D | 26th vs TE | 23% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| 2 | vs CAR L 3-3429th D | 29th vs TE | 43% | 4 | 2 | 20 | +1.6 | |
| 3 | at GB W 35-1411th D | 11th vs TE | 23% | 2 | 2 | 11 | 1 | +4.2 |
| 4 | at NO W 45-2428th D | 28th vs TE | 23% | 1 | 1 | 9 | +0.7 | |
| 5 | vs BAL L 23-3016th D | 16th vs TE | 16% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| 6 | vs CHI L 23-3117th D | 17th vs TE | 13% | 1 | 1 | 6 | +0.1 | |
| 7 | vs SF W 29-204th D | 4th vs TE | 43% | 2 | 2 | 21 | +1.0 | |
| 8 | at TB L 0-169th D | 9th vs TE | 13% | 1 | 1 | 9 | +0.7 | |
| 9 | vs CINSun Nov 8 · this week | |||||||
| 10 | vs KCSun Nov 15 | |||||||
| 11 | Bye week | |||||||
| 12 | at MINSun Nov 29 | |||||||
| 13 | vs DETSun Dec 6 | |||||||
| 14 | at CLESun Dec 13 | |||||||
| 15 | at WASSun Dec 20 | |||||||
| 16 | vs TBSun Dec 27 | |||||||
| 17 | vs NOSun Jan 3 | |||||||
| 18 | at CARSun Jan 10 | |||||||
| 8 games | 25% | 11 | 9 | 76 | 1 | +8.3 |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Tgt share | Air share | aDOT | YAC | EPA/tgt | 1D | Drops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at PIT L 13-2026th D | 26th vs TE | 0% | 0% | - | 0 | - | 0 | |
| 2 | vs CAR L 3-3429th D | 29th vs TE | 13% | 8% | 3.3 | 15 | +0.39 | 2 | |
| 3 | at GB W 35-1411th D | 11th vs TE | 9% | 7% | 5.0 | 1 | +2.09 | 1 | |
| 4 | at NO W 45-2428th D | 28th vs TE | 5% | -2% | -2.0 | 11 | +0.75 | 0 | |
| 5 | vs BAL L 23-3016th D | 16th vs TE | 0% | 0% | - | 0 | - | 0 | |
| 6 | vs CHI L 23-3117th D | 17th vs TE | 3% | 2% | 5.0 | 1 | +0.12 | 0 | |
| 7 | vs SF W 29-204th D | 4th vs TE | 6% | 6% | 6.0 | 9 | +0.50 | 1 | |
| 8 | at TB L 0-169th D | 9th vs TE | 4% | 1% | 3.0 | 6 | +0.69 | 0 | |
| 9 | vs CINSun Nov 8 · this week | ||||||||
| 10 | vs KCSun Nov 15 | ||||||||
| 11 | Bye week | ||||||||
| 12 | at MINSun Nov 29 | ||||||||
| 13 | vs DETSun Dec 6 | ||||||||
| 14 | at CLESun Dec 13 | ||||||||
| 15 | at WASSun Dec 20 | ||||||||
| 16 | vs TBSun Dec 27 | ||||||||
| 17 | vs NOSun Jan 3 | ||||||||
| 18 | at CARSun Jan 10 | ||||||||
| 8 games | 5% | 3% | 3.7 | 43 | +0.76 | 4 |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | 20+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at PIT L 13-2026th D | 26th vs TE | 0 | 0 | - | ||
| 2 | vs CAR L 3-3429th D | 29th vs TE | 2 | 20 | 10.0 | ||
| 3 | at GB W 35-1411th D | 11th vs TE | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 1 | |
| 4 | at NO W 45-2428th D | 28th vs TE | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | ||
| 5 | vs BAL L 23-3016th D | 16th vs TE | 0 | 0 | - | ||
| 6 | vs CHI L 23-3117th D | 17th vs TE | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | ||
| 7 | vs SF W 29-204th D | 4th vs TE | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | ||
| 8 | at TB L 0-169th D | 9th vs TE | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | ||
| 9 | vs CINSun Nov 8 · this week | ||||||
| 10 | vs KCSun Nov 15 | ||||||
| 11 | Bye week | ||||||
| 12 | at MINSun Nov 29 | ||||||
| 13 | vs DETSun Dec 6 | ||||||
| 14 | at CLESun Dec 13 | ||||||
| 15 | at WASSun Dec 20 | ||||||
| 16 | vs TBSun Dec 27 | ||||||
| 17 | vs NOSun Jan 3 | ||||||
| 18 | at CARSun Jan 10 | ||||||
| 8 games | 9 | 76 | 8.4 | 1 | 0 |
Targets are steady: 1.3 a game over his last three against 1.4 for the season. 8 straight games below a starter's median in rec yards.
How this is measured
Bars are his week. The shaded band is the league's middle half at his position, every qualifying player-game this season, and the dashed line is its median. The solid line is his trailing three games. An × on the baseline is a game his team played without him; a dotted tick is the bye.
He has faced the 21st-toughest slate vs TE: his opponents rank 17.5 of 32 on average (league middle 16.8). Ahead: 2 of his next 9 are top-10 vs TE and 5 are bottom-10, starting with the Bengals (27th) in Week 9.
The slate · played solid, ahead dashed
His line by defense faced
| Defenses | G | Tgt/g | Yds/g | EPA/tgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ranked 1 to 10Top-10 defenses | 2 | 1.5 | 15 | +0.57 |
| 11 to 22Middle | 3 | 1.0 | 6 | +1.43 |
| 23 to 32Bottom-10 | 3 | 1.7 | 10 | +0.46 |
| All games | 8 | 1.4 | 10 | +0.76 |
Yards against the rank of the defense
His production barely moves with the opponent (r = -0.21); it has traveled.
Careerseason by season, back to his rookie year
His best year was 2019, 787 receiving yards in 13 games. This season's 12.7 a game puts him on pace for 215 over 17, short of it.
| Season | Team | G | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Y/R | Yds/g | EPA/tgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | ATL | 13 | 27 | 19 | 271 | 3 | 14.3 | 20.8 | +0.60 |
| 2017 | ATL | 16 | 65 | 49 | 526 | 3 | 10.7 | 32.9 | +0.06 |
| 2018 | ATL | 16 | 88 | 71 | 660 | 4 | 9.3 | 41.3 | +0.35 |
| 2019 | ATL | 13 | 97 | 75 | 787 | 6 | 10.5 | 60.5 | +0.26 |
| 2020 | CLE | 13 | 70 | 46 | 435 | 4 | 9.5 | 33.5 | +0.32 |
| 2021 | CLE | 15 | 61 | 38 | 345 | 3 | 9.1 | 23.0 | +0.33 |
| 2022 | TEN | 17 | 60 | 41 | 444 | 2 | 10.8 | 26.1 | +0.44 |
| 2023 | LV | 16 | 31 | 25 | 234 | 0 | 9.4 | 14.6 | +0.34 |
| 2024 | NE | 17 | 59 | 45 | 476 | 3 | 10.6 | 28.0 | +0.22 |
| 2025 | NE | 13 | 26 | 21 | 263 | 2 | 12.5 | 20.2 | +0.65 |
| 2026 | ATL | 6 | 11 | 9 | 76 | 1 | 8.4 | 12.7 | +0.76 |
| Career | 5 tm | 155 | 595 | 439 | 4,517 | 31 | 10.3 | 29.1 | +0.32 |
How this is measured
Regular season only, from nflverse weekly stats back to 1999. This season is partial and drawn hollow; the pace is his per-game rate over 17 games. Bold cells are career highs.
Intel & playsthe report, his best snaps, his teammates
- Depth chart
- TE3 · 3WR 1TE
- Injury report
- clean
- Red zone touches
- …
- Third down
- …
- Explosive plays
- …
- Drops
- 0 on 11 targets
- Broken tackles
- 0
- Passer rating when targeted
- 100.0
- Play action
- …
- Contested
- …
| Player | Touches | Yds | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bijan RobinsonRB | 183 | 983 · 5 TD | -13.4 |
 Drake LondonWR | 64 | 628 · 1 TD | +21.3 |
 Brian RobinsonRB | 59 | 241 · 4 TD | +2.9 |
 Kyle PittsTE | 32 | 197 · 4 TD | +2.0 |
 Jahan DotsonWR | 30 | 337 · 2 TD | -5.4 |
 Michael Penix Jr.QB | 17 | 15 | +1.2 |
 Olamide ZaccheausWR | 13 | 21 | -12.5 |
 Zachariah BranchWR | 13 | 72 | -0.6 |